Vietnam defeated Sri Lanka to win their first match in the 19th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship in a dramatic five set 25-19, 16-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-9 on Wednesday.

Vietnam (in yellow) pocket a win over Sri Lanka at the Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship in Indonesia. 

Both Vietnam and Sri Lanka had yet to win a match in the top-tier tournament being held in Indonesia, going down to South Korea and Japan in their first two matches of Pool C. Their two successive losses have already relegated both sides to the ninth-16th classification round.

The last preliminary encounter between Vietnam and Sri Lanka on Wednesday served to determine the positions in their pool.

Next, Vietnam will meet Saudi Arabia, while Sri Lanka will play Qatar.

In another match of the group, South Korea defeated defending champions Japan 22-25, 25-21, 25-17, 18-25, 8-25.

With three wins, South Korea topped the group and advanced to the next round. They will now play against hosts Indonesia in Group F.

Japan have also qualified for the next stage, and will play Kazakhstan. 

VNS